1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved electric dry shaver. The invention relates more particulary to an improved electric dry shaver having means for enhancing the cutting performance of the shaver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electric dry shavers generally include a hand held housing and a cutter head, the housing being manipulated for advancing the cutter head into contact with the user's face or other body site at which hair is to be shaved. In general, the cutter head includes an outer, stationary, apertured cutter member and an inner, reciprocating cutter member which operates in shearing engagement with the outer cutter member. An electrical motor is positioned in the housing and is mechanically coupled to the cutter head for imparting reciprocating motion to the inner cutter member. The user's hairs which extend through the apertures in the outer cutter member are thereby sheared by the cutter members.
It is known that the cutting performance of an electric dry shaver can be improved by stretching or tensioning the user's skin at the site which the cutter head engages. This causes body hairs to be presented to the cutter head in a relatively erect attitude and reduces skin waves and skin undulations which the cutter head might otherwise not fully contact.
Although the desireability of tensioning the skin to achieve improved cutter head performance has been appreciated, the accomplishment of the same has not been readily achieved in connection with electric dry shavers. Prior arrangements have been relatively complex, in some cases not durable, not conveniently used and relatively unreliable. Moreover, electric dry shavers often include a hair or sideburn trimmer which is fixedly mounted at one side of the cutter head and to a certain extent limits manipulation of the shaver. Use of a trimmer requires that the advancing movement of the cutter head be effected by a side of the shaver opposite to the trimmer which does not present an auxiliary trimmer to interfere with the ready replacement of a leading surface of the shaver head. Consequently, placement of a skin tensioning means to be used in cooperation with the cutter head is limited. Placement of a skin stretcher means at a location within the width of the cutter head is usually unsatisfactory for the reason that adequate skin tensioning is not provided. Similarly, the placement of a fixed skin tensioning means at a side of the shaver opposite the trimmer interferes with and limits cutting of hair in such difficult to reach places as under the nose, in proximity to sideburns, adjacent to moustache, etc.